Slaveholders were not technically doing anything illegal at the time, so by the law African slaves were their property, so there was little that could be done. Slaveholders used all kinds of arguments such as "economics, history, religion, legality, social good, and even humanitarianism" to hold onto the right to keep slaves. (The Southern Argument for Slavery) Slaves were used in so many places of employment, that many slaveholders said that "the sudden end to the slave economy would have had a profound and killing economic impact." (The Southern Argument for Slavery) African slaves did have a big role in the economy as slaves were involved in many jobs during the "American Revolution", so there would be a change in the economy if the slaves were set